Child of Vesperia
by RoseRozu
Summary: Yuri and Flynn got a surprise when Yuri left the Knights. Saving the world and the lower quarters is one thing, but adding parenthood to the mix? Rated M for safety
1. Prolouge

**Since I bought the Tales Of Vesperia Definitive Edition, I've had this idea for a while, so happy reading and a massive t****hanks to my amazing beta SkylynnShimmertail!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Tales Of Vesperia but I do own the OC.**

**Warnings: Implied Mpreg **

A long time ago, Flynn learned that it was almost always the normal days that ended up changing your life. It wasn't the ones with fire on the horizons, the ones with twisters and cyclones in the background or the ones with the most gorgeous sunsets you could ever imagine. It was the ones with normal, blue skies, fluffy white clouds and not a spec of distinctiveness that got you.

The sky was perfectly clear the day he was told that Finath Scifo had died. The wind blew as it always did, the day he met Yuri. The day Yuri told him he had to leave, that he wouldn't be allowed to stay, that he was…

That day didn't catch him by surprise, and that was exactly why it did.

So, Flynn wasn't feeling too antsy as he walked through the cloudburst. Having to return Lambert to Commander Fedrock had been a tedious journey, though he was thankful to have the dog with them while the Commander left due to reports of violent monsters. On his way back, the clouds turned about 6 shades darker and seemed determined to dump the entire ocean down on his head.

He settled his mount at the stables and ran home. The wind seemed to get even more violent as he made his way to the Comet Tavern and Inn. He climbed the stairs, shielding his face against the bullets of rain and entered the apartment he shared with Yuri.

The darkened room told him that Yuri had gone to sleep, not that he could do much else. Yuri's conditioned had worsened in the last few weeks, so he had been advised, or sentenced depending on who you asked, to staying in bed and being as inactive as possible.

Flynn was certain he would enter and find Yuri sitting at the table, asking "So, how was everyone's favorite up and coming knight this fine day?" and then he'd probably complain about his being unable to do anything and, despite Flynn's insisting that he shouldn't, get up and offer to help Flynn remove his armor.

But no, the apartment was perfectly quiet and the door to the bedroom was cracked open, as Yuri wanted to at least be aware of when Flynn returned.

Flynn entered the bedroom and saw Yuri laying on his back in the double bed they shared looking towards the fog covered scenery with blankets piled across his body. His figure was silhouetted against the window, seeming to tremble as the shadows of rain on glass slid down the panes.

Flynn put his knee on the bed and leaned over to look Yuri in the face. Yuri's face was tight with pain and it looked like he was sweating, despite the shiver that Flynn was now able to see.

"Yuri, are you okay?"

Yuri flinched; Yuri Lowell flinched from him…this was a definite sign that something was wrong. Flynn didn't even have a chance to panic.

Yuri's eyes snapped open and as they rolled towards him, the hand that Yuri wasn't resting his weight on, the one that wasn't clenching the sheet so tight that the knuckles were turning red, shot towards him and grabbed him by the front of the shirt.

Yuri hauled him close; pushed himself up on one hand and through gritting teeth in a voice husky with pain, he whispered, "Get help, before I kill you with my bare hands."

Yuri let go, lay back onto the bed, and resumed his heavy breathing; one hand on his newly exposed, distended stomach and the sheets over his legs turning dark with moisture.

Flynn had just enough time to swear, before he was out the door and running down the street.

When he was about three quarters of the way to his destination, there may have had a second where he thought about the fact that he was wearing little more than an undershirt and a thin pair of pants in a torrential downpour that, if his ears were correct, would rapidly turn into a full blown thunderstorm.

But when a younger-looking man opened the door and asked why he was running up to his porch as if he had a monster chasing after him, he quickly discarded that thought.

In the freezing cold rain, in clothes that were in no way suited for this weather, he looked him in the face and felt himself yell-

"Yuri is having the baby!"

* * *

**✫彡**

* * *

"My fucking hero…" Yuri had looked up and Flynn was gone.

Any attempt to get up was halted by a horrible pain shooting through his body. He was helpless, alone and quickly would need assistance.

Yuri tried to breath, tried to keep oxygen flowing through his body, but the pain kicked the breath right out of him.

Yuri grunted as another contraction cause his body to tighten up and he instinctively began to open his legs. The pain was making it difficult to think and the oncoming storm created tension in the air. The sound of the rain seemed to bounce off of his skull, pings and thrums on his scalp and jaw that only served to heighten his awareness of the growing pain.

As Yuri shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable, he felt himself sitting in a growing mess in the bed.

"There is no way I'm cleaning- ah!" A wince bit off his complaint.

"fff-Flynn!" He shouted. "Guh!" He swallowed the saliva in his mouth as, yet another contraction went off and shot huffs of air through his nose.

He didn't know how long he was waiting, but eventually he heard heavy stomping steps coming towards the door and along with the frame nearly being torn off, he could hear Flynn's voice through the excruciating haze.

"Yuri! Yuri, I'm here, I brought him!" Flynn ran back into the room, blonde hair dark and drenched, and was quickly kneeling next to the bed and holding Yuri's hand tightly.

"Okay," the man peeled back the covers, looking down with split colored eyes, one dark blue and the other mint. "you are almost fully dilated, my friend. The kid is ready to go!" He gave Yuri a grin.

"…joy." Yuri glared at him. "You wouldn't happen to have anything on you to take away this feeling of my insides being shredded, would you Asa?"

The Doctor, Asa shook his head as he reached for a bag. "Sorry bud, you're a special case and I don't know if anything I have would work right. Plus, all those things are with Cross and he unfortunately has the day off today."

Flynn was doing his best to drag away the soiled bed sheets. "So, he just has to bear through the pain?"

"I know and I'm sorry, but nothing is really made for this and- "Asa was forced to drop his train of thought when Yuri was hit by another strong contraction, nearly pushing a scream out of his mouth.

"Okay! Okay, you both can get mad at me later; for now, Flynn hand me my bag?" Asa moved the blankets up to Yuri's waist and when Flynn did as asked, held his hand out without turning around.

Asa pulled out a scanner and held it over Yuri extended stomach. The many stretch marks crawling over his abdomen had been very noticeable for the past few weeks, but now you couldn't ignore them for all the gald in the world. Yuri's pale skin highlighted the red creases and while Yuri constantly assured Flynn that though they burned, they never hurt; they still looked like they should ache.

Asa looked at the scanner as text darted across the screen at a near unreadable speed. Flynn walked to the head of the bed and when Yuri once again held his shoulders up on his elbows, Flynn grabbed his upper arm and as gently as he could, help Yuri slide up so he could slide some pillows under his back.

"Phew, you okay?" Yuri was still hurting, but he felt like he could handle it a bit better now that his head was up. Flynn on the other hand, looked no better than Yuri; clothes dripping wet and hair dark with moisture. "…Flynn…" Yuri ground out as another contraction hit.

Flynn _actually_ squeaked, "Yeah?" Whatever happened that day, Yuri would never forget that.

"Calm down, it'll be alright." The progressively tightening grip on Flynn's hand implied otherwise.

"Of, uh… of course it will." Flynn let out in a trembled response. Months of mental and emotional preparation were progressively being tossed out the window as the sheer reality of the situation hit Flynn in the face.

"We're gonna have…we're gonna…" Yuri was gonna remember this moment forever.

"…uh…" The two were reminded that they weren't alone when Asa stood up from Yuri stomach and turned his back towards them. He snapped the handheld device shut.

"…dammit". His brow pinched for a moment as he turned.

"Is something wrong?" Flynn let go of Yuri's hand and stood up.

Asa appeared to not hear him as he picked up two dirty, stained towels from the pile Flynn had left in the corner. "You two rent this room?" He got down on the floor and looked directly under the bed. "What in the tavern is directly below us?"

"The tables, I guess?" Yuri responded as he raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Uh…you are probably gonna owe everyone some new tables come tomorrow." Asa put one towel under the bed.

"Why?"

Asa rolled up his sleeves. "Because this is going to be messy."

Any words, insults or remarks that Yuri was about to say were punched in the face and reduce to screams as the sharpest, most intense pain that Yuri had ever felt struck him in a very vulnerable place.

"Yuri!" Flynn, despite his attempts to remain calm, could not hide the terror on his face as Yuri's hand shot out to grab his. "Yuri, you're gonna be okay."

Yuri couldn't answer; bladed strikes that stung like ice cut through his thighs, back and stomach. A fresh, wet gush of something thicker than water added to the plash on the bed, a surprising amount that Yuri faintly wondered for a moment if he should be concerned. That concern was pushed away as that same pain all too quickly ran through his body again.

"Okay, Flynn I need you to try and keep him calm for this." Asa put one knee right in the filth and fluids on the bed, no sign of disgust or revulsion on his face, and put his hands where they needed to be. He peeked up from between Yuri's legs. "Yuri, I know this is far from relaxing, but try to relax." He emphasized the last word and smiled cheekily before ducking back down.

"FUCK! YOU!" Yuri shouted as the lightning briefly lit up his grey eyes. "UGH!"

"Yuri," Flynn was virtually losing control of his emotions as his best friend developed an inhuman amount of strength and dedicated every single piece of it to crushing Flynn's hand. "It's gonna be alright. It'll be over soon."

Flynn's smile had little effect. "Flynn, you know I'm gonna kill you when this is over right?"

"Yes"

"I am so going to kill you!"

"I know" Flynn tried to reposition his hand, only for Yuri's strength to increase again. Flynn grunted, "trust me, I know."

Asa, far away from Yuri's wrath, certainly had his hands full. Yuri had no idea what exactly his doctor was doing, but he sure as hell could feel it. What he hoped were Asa's hands were holding him open and Yuri could feel a weight in his abdomen moving towards his opening.

"You're doing great kid, just keep breathing." Asa looked up again at him and tried to be reassuring, but he repeated glances back down betrayed a bit of fear.

The storm outside seemed to grow more violent, as if throwing a tantrum that it had been forgotten. The wind seemed to be screaming as it rushed past the windows, the rain pounded on the roof and the thunder overhead rumbled, but never boomed, as if it was waiting.

Flynn leaned as far as he could towards Asa as he continued to squeeze the hand in his. "What can I do to help him?" Yuri was struggling to keep it together and Flynn could see it. The tendons in his neck tightened and released and when his eyes weren't clenched shut, Flynn could see that his pupils were large and shiny.

"Count his breathes, I'm a little busy." Asa hissed as he gave up on his attempts to keep the two calm.

Flynn looked down at Yuri, swallowed and slid his arm under Yuri's shoulders. Yuri didn't respond to his action, keeping his expression tight and his breaths short; but he did respond to the small kiss.

Flynn gently rested his lips on Yuri's forehead and after, he leaned his head against his. He whispered, "Just keep breathing, it'll be okay." Yuri took deep breathes through his nose; he pulled their shared hands to his heart and focused all of his attention on that until the pain, while still as intense, becoming a secondary throbbing.

"Alright," Asa was out of breath, as if he had been holding it for some time. "I need you to get ready, because this is the big push, okay? On the count of three."

They nodded.

"One "

The building sound of a bubbling vibration resounded outside.

"Two"

Flynn and Yuri tensed up together as Flynn leaned close to his ear. "Scream if you have to, I'll be more scared if you don't."

"Three!"

A brilliant flash of light almost blinded them from outside; an awesome crash shook the building and the near deafening explosion of thunder reverberated as Yuri screamed his throat raw.

For a minute, there was no sound but that of the rain or Yuri's panting; the thunder apparently deciding it was done.

Then, a shrill cry, followed by the more subdued tone of Asa frantically grabbing a new, cleaner towel.

His experienced hand grabbed hold of scissors from his bag, "Do…" Asa looked awestruck at the bundle in his arms. "…do you want to…?" He asked Flynn.

A small "go" from Yuri's direction encouraged Flynn to block out the world as he walked towards Asa. After Asa made the tie, Flynn snipped the cord and was given the small individual to hold.

No longer crying, Flynn saw a small face peeking out of the blankets in his arms. A little dark grey eye squinted out him as the babe whined and Flynn felt himself begin to cry.

"Go and show him."

Flynn started at Asa's voice and looked at his blurry image.

"I need to make sure things are good on this end, not very glamorous, but it needs to be done." Asa smiled as he cleaned up the bloody mess on the bed.

"Besides, someone else is waiting."

Flynn gasped. "Yuri!" All the adrenaline needed to go somewhere, so Flynn quickly kneeled back down and held the baby out to its mother. "Yuri, you did it!"

Yuri was so tired. He was pale and sweaty and sore, everything looked so foggy.

But the sound of Flynn next to him, the sound of cooing near his head had him turning to the side to see. The world was getting blurry and Yuri felt like his head was floating with the blastias, but he could see. Flynn uncovered the baby's torso slightly and when his arm poked out and his fist was right there, Yuri used all his strength to give the baby his finger.

"Huh…how's…he looking?" Yuri whispered.

"He's beautiful Yuri. They might change later, but his eyes look like yours." Flynn didn't know who to look at. That had been the most terrifying ordeal he'd ever seen. When the lightning had flashed, Flynn had shut his eyes on instinct. The first thing he saw was Yuri's pain-ridden, screaming face. He had shut them again after that and wondered what he'd see when he opened again. He was so happy that he had seen a baby instead of Yuri still in pain though.

Yuri gazed at the baby, a smile forming on his shiny, tired face. Everything was getting so smoky…but he could still see their child…

"Yuri…are you okay?"

His eyelids weighed a ton, but he was fine. The little thing that he had been waiting for, the one he had suffered through the late nights, the bloating, the sickness, the names and just everything…it was here.

And it was beautiful…

"Bud?"

Yuri couldn't be happier.

"Shit!" Asa was freaking out again, Flynn could handle it. Yuri had been putting up with him for seven months.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Was he wetting himself? His bladder had taken a beating this whole time; did all moms deal with this?

"What's wrong?!" Flynn got up and left, taking the little hand with him. Yuri wanted to call him back, but suddenly his hand was too heavy to move. Flynn turned away from him and stared at the doctor, who was frantically pulling away the once clean blankets he had been kind enough to cover Yuri's weary body with.

"The bleeding- "

Yuri wasn't listening anymore. Flynn could lecture him later. Yuri would also have to remember to ask him where his legs had gone; he could feel them anymore.

"Yuri! Stay awake!"

"…fuck you Flynn…" Things got blurrier and blurrier until it all got black. He attempted to wake backup when he heard crying, but by then he was too far gone.


	2. Zaphias: Part 1

**RoseRozu: Much appreciated all for the overwhelming response I got for Tales of Vesperia. Hope you all will enjoy this chapter(*)! Also I would like to apologise for the long wait. A massive thank you to my beta SkylynnShimmertail**

**Also you can find me on my new Tumblr account: **

**roserozu22 . tumblr . com /**

* * *

彡

* * *

Beneath a grand machine that reflected the iridescence of the sun, the city of Zaphias echoes with activity and movement. Street lamps hum and people chatter, living their own lives in their own spaces; elite and noble elevated by brick and mortar over the poorer and more humble. Below the more privileged, a fountain vibrated as it showered and gushed clear, clean water with a single aqua blue jewel in it's center. Beautiful and reflecting, the shimmering blue patterns of the water were blocked as a shadow leaned forward, fingers digging into alcove. As the jewel was dislodged, the fountain stopped abruptly; only to briefly vibrate before violently spewing forth gallons and gallons of water, far too much for it to hold in the pool.

The water flooded down the alleyways, making rivers out of pathways. The initial current proved strong and heavy, a little girl cried out as she lost her footing and was swept away. But before she could be swept down the gutter, a hand grabbed onto hers. A boy with sun bright hair grabbed her hand and hauled her onto the stone steps he stood on. When she gained her feet, he hugged her.

"You okay?" He asked.

The girl wiped the water out of her eyes as she sputtered. "Thugh- thanks Arsen!"

"You're welcome." He turned and watched the water roar down the alley off the cliff of the city and into the river. "Will you be alright?" He turned and asked her. "The water's slowing down, so maybe you should stay here?"

"No, my mom's down the other street, I'll get home when the water stops.

The boy nodded and hopped into the stream that began to shallow.

He made his way to the fountain gasping. "What's happening?" The fountain, instead of sitting in it's own little plaza, was in a pond.

"Hey!" Arsen turned around and saw a boy with brown hair rushing towards him.

"Ted?"

He stepped into the pool and almost immediately fell forwards into the water. Arsen, seeing his friend tipping forwards, darted and had his hands under the front of Ted's pits.

He sputtered as Arsen pushed him to his knees. "What happened to the fountain?" He said only to realize that with their close proximity to the gush, he could barely hear himself ask the question.

"I don't know," Arsen shouted over the rush, hands under the boy's arms and doing his best to haul the now soaked through child to his feet.

Ted shakily rose to his feet and took high-kneed steps towards the fountain, Arsen following behind him.

"I've never seen it like this." Arsen said, standing in water up to his hips.

"Me neither." Ted trailed off as the two of them stepped out of the pond.

People began to crowd around the overflowing water feature. Quick thinking men quickly gathered sandbags and began to line them on the steps into the rapidly filling pit and woman began to gather their children to their sides as they watched those able to try and staunch the water.

With the lower quarters being interconnected, everyone's homes were at risk. The water had only gone down the alleys that ran off into the woods thus far and thankfully, the only things down those ways were a few empty shopping stalls and secret paths into the Royal Quarters. But if the water didn't stop before it got too high, it would flood into the more populated areas.

"C'mon Ted!" Arsen said as he grabbed Ted's hand and tugged him down a dark alley with laundry hanging between the buildings and barrels lining the walls. "Mama will know what to do!

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! He can help us get the fountain to stop!"

The two boys ran down the alleyway until they came to a ladder that rose up the wall and stopped at the edge of the upper quarters. The two of them climbed as quickly as they could and crawled over the top bar into the backyard of a white, three-story town house. The house stood out compared to the extravagance of the others, being smaller and thinner than its neighbors.

The two of them tore across the lawn and Arsen barged through the back door, his boots thundering down the hall. "Mama! Mama!" He ran to the sunroom where a young man with long violet-grey hair was sitting with one leg up near the bay windows. On the cushion next to him a silver-blue dog with a knife strapped to his back lay napping, a decorative pipe in his mouth and a painful looking scar over one eye.

"Yuri! This is not good!" Ted said as Arsen grabbed onto Yuri's arm urgently.

"What's with all the yelling you two?" He asked as Arsen began to pull on his arm to get off his seat. Yuri raised his eyebrow as he felt his son's damp hands grip his wrist and he observed the soggy prints leading in from outside.

"The Aqua blastia's broken again." Ted pointed out the back door that he and Arsen had left wide open.

"What's the big deal?" Yuri shrugged, "Just leave it to the mighty imperial knights and their loyal commandant. That's what they're all here for."

"Hah. The Knights? You know they'd never go down to the lower quarter." Ted scoffed.

Arsen nodded his head as Yuri slowly began to give in to his attempts to get him standing. "They didn't even try to help when Molly got caught in the water. I had to pull her out all by myself."

Yuri gave a showy yawn, throwing his arm around Arsen's shoulders and pulling him close so he could nuzzle his nose into his hair. "Was she alright?" Yuri asked. "Oof! Yeah, but c'mon Mama, we gotta go!"

"Hmm, Flynn shouldn't have left yet…"Yuri wondered aloud as Arsen walked around him and began pushing against his backside to get him moving.

"If he's here, they didn't let me see him." Ted insisted.

"Oh, so I'm Flynn's replacement, huh?"

"Nope, no way!" Arsen said with a smile as he turned his attention to the dog that grumbled when Arsen attempted to rouse him.

"Never mind that, come on you two! We're short on people!" Ted begged.

"Ted! Arsen!" Samantha's voice called out from down in the alley. "You two get down here! They need your help too!"

"We're uh…we're coming!" Arsen called out. Ted looked to Yuri. "Yuri, c'mon already!" Ted ran back down the hall and towards the kitchen. Arsen attempted to follow him only for Yuri to grab his collar and haul him to his side.

"Hey Sparky, how about you go and change before you flood our house all on your own?" Yuri squeezed Arsen's shoulders as he looked down at the wet dirt and blades of grass clinging to the bottom of his boots.

"Oh! Um, sorry Mama." Arsen said sheepishly and he ran upstairs.

"Grab your blastia too, while you're at it." Yuri called up as he heard loud footsteps pound the ceiling and a door open. A troubled look appeared on Yuri's face. "This is weird. He always comes running whenever there's trouble…" Yuri looked out the window, the sound of rushing water echoed over the sound of the birds fluttered in the backyard. "The lower quarters will become an aquarium soon if this keeps up."

Upstairs, Arsen hurriedly searched for a new pair of pants, the thought of fish swimming through door ways and people fishing from the roofs of the houses making him leave buttons messy and he shoved his feet into his boots.

Arsen was through the doorway of his room before he paused and ran back to his dresser. He pushed the picture that his father sent him last month to the side on grabbed the small box.

Arsen opened the box and inside, there was a small hair ornament. A pale yellow jewel, with a tall orange kestrel feather and a duo of small canary feathers attached to the back glittered at him. Arsen plucked it up and with well-taught motions, clipped it into his hair.

With his blastia in place, Arsen scampered down the stairs, out the door and down the ladder. At the bottom, Ted waited for him with large empty buckets hanging from his skinny arms.

Arsen stepped away from the ladder and looked up to see Repede skillfully climbing down after him. "Is Mama coming?" He asked the dog.

His answer came in the form of the whistle of leather on metal as Yuri slid down the ladder with one hand; in his other, the scabbard of his sword dangled.

Yuri gave Ted a smile and Arsen flung his arms around Yuri's waist, which prompted Yuri to pet him on the head.

"Yuri!" Ted cried out in happiness.

Arsen released his hug and together with Yuri and Repede, they walked down the alley towards the sound of rushing water.

[Everyday in the Lower Quarter]

Yuri: First the trouble with the Knights yesterday. Now the aqua blastia breaks…

Arsen: Did stuff like this happen back when we still lived down here?

Yuri: Oh yeah, everyday it seemed like. Nice to see that things haven't changed, I guess.

Repede: Woof!

Yuri: But Repede's right, there's no point in whining about it.

Repede: Woof!

The three of them walked down the alleyway until they found themselves standing in front of the deep pool that had sprung up around the fountain. The pool was filled with people who tried their best to empty the pond, sloshing and scooping in the water that just didn't want to stop flowing.

An old man, who seemed to be the one directing the efforts, stood in the water calling out to everyone. "We've got to seal it off somehow!"

Yuri waded into the water. "What's going on? Any sunken treasure down there?" He asked one of the workers cheekily. "Yeah, but you're late, so I'm not sharing." The teen responded. "Hah hah. How nice." Yuri said wryly.

"Hey, it's sink or swim in this world." The man said. "Looks like that blue-blooded mage we hired to fix the blastia left the job half done.

Arsen walked around the pond and approached the old man. "Grandpa Hanks, is there anything I can do?"

"Heh, you can grab the sandbags and haul'em up to where everyone can get to 'em, sonny. Don't pick up any that are too heavy for ya, though." As Arsen stepped away to do as he was told, Hanks turned back to Yuri. "Glad you could find the time to stop by Yuri."

Yuri perched his hand on his hip. "Take it easy with the water sports, old man. You're not getting any younger."

Hanks chuckled. "You're up next. Hope the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree and you're not too scared of a little water." He said as Arsen, armed with an empty bucket, leaped right into the water and scooped up as much water as he could carry and hauled it out and into a barrel, only to repeat the whole process.

"Yikes"

"C'mon now, "Hanks shouted. "Put your backs into it! Heave, ho, heave…"

"Hanks is really going at it." Yuri observed as he joined in scooping the water with his bare hands.

"He feels responsible." Johnny answered him. "He's the one who pushed the people to get the money together for the repairs."

"And now he's the one all wet." Yuri remarked. As he spoke, Arsen sploshed through the water towards him; his clothing once again soaked through.

"Why though?" He asked. "It's not like it's his fault. He shouldn't feel bad."

"Your right, it's that mage who did a two-bit job." Yuri stood up.

"That's true," someone else replied. "That's true; he even parted with his wife's keepsake to help raise money. And didn't you all give some things too?"

"Yeah," Arsen chirped. "I gave some of my toys away to help!" Arsen declared proudly, unaffected by the words he spoke and the look of surprise and pity that came from the person he had answered.

Yuri remained silent, wading around to the front of the fountain. He looked past the spray of water and stared hard into the empty alcove of the fountain. To his side, Arsen continued to work with the others, carrying sandbag after sandbag. As he began to get tired, he sat down on one of the higher steps to catch his breath; Molly the little girl from before came to his side and Arsen laughed and nodded his head as she inquired about his welfare.

Yuri recalled how Arsen asked him if he could sell some of his things and help everyone fix the fountain. Arsen picking out his set of stuffed cheagles to sell and responding with a simple "I wanna help" anytime Yuri asked him if he was certain he wanted to part with the collection he had worked so hard to complete. A curious look fell over Yuri's face as he raised his hand to his chin.

"Hey, Yuri! If your not gonna help out, stand clear! This is dangerous!

"Hanks," Yuri shouted. " did you see the blastia core anywhere? You know, that shiny piece in the center."

"Huh? …is it gone?" Hanks called.

"Yeah, the blastia won't work with the core missing." Yuri confirmed. That aristocrat who came to do the repairs was the last person to touch the blastia, right?"

"That's right, a Mr. Mordio."

"And he lives in the Royal Quarter?" Yuri reckoned looking suspiciously at the pathway to the Royal Plaza.

"Yeah, so?" Hanks said impatiently. "Forget about that Yuri, give use a hand here!"

…Sorry, Hanks. I just remembered an errand I've gotta to run." Yuri said before walking down the walkway.

"Hey, wait just a minute!" Hanks halted Yuri with yell. You're not seriously thinking of going to Mr. Mordio's place, are ya?"

"The Royal Quarter? Don't let the house fool you, Hanks. If it wasn't for a certain someone, I wouldn't be caught dead up there. It gives me the creeps."

"Me too! The Royal Quarters suck!" Arsen piped up as he made his way towards the two men, after emptying his boots. "Where're you going, Mama?"

"We've got someone we need to pay a visit to. You wanna come?" Yuri asked before turning.

"Yeah!" Arsen said excitedly before skipping after him.

"Damn it, Yuri…Just because you can do a few tricks with that Bodhi blastia of yours, you think you're invincible." Hanks said reproachfully. "Here's hoping he and that boy don't do anything crazy…

A scoff from the crowd in the pool drew Hanks attention. "He always seems to cause problems when the lower quarters involved." Max said. "Anyone else in his position would've left their problems behind if they lived in a house like his."

Hanks shrugged. "If it's not Yuri in the Lower Quarters, it's Arsen in the Royal…"

"Well, it's just an average day for Yuri and Arsen. I'm sure they'll be fine."

彡

With Repede and Arsen at his side, Yuri ran up towards the plaza. Crowded as always, Yuri grabbed Arsen by the hand to make sure that he didn't lose him. As they made their way around the corner, Yuri slowed down. They past the general store table and just as the were making their way towards the stairs-

"You there! You there!" A voice called "Are you aware of the serious events going on in the world?"

Yuri froze in confusion and Arsen looked over his shoulder. "Hello?" The little boy asked.

"Over here! Right here! I'm the Wonder Reporter!" The voice proclaimed from…a corner? "Bringing you the articles about what matters most, every day!" it declared as Yuri and Arsen drew closer.

"Do you read the newspaper in the morning? Cup of coffee? Donut? What? You don't? That just won't do!" Arsen reached his hand out to catiously pat the brick of the talking corner side. "What epic thing has transpired today? You'll never believe it!"

"You can read it whenever, wherever and with no effort at all! Yes, it's the Wonder Log! Put it to good use!" Arsen looked down on the ground and saw a small scrapbook. As he leaned down to pick it up, the corner (?) said in much less spectacular tone "…and by the way, let's let the fact that I'm in the wall be our little secret, okay? Well then, farewell!"

"Huh?" Yuri and Arsen looked at each other in confusion, before Arsen offered the scrapbook to Yuri, who slid it into his inventory.

"What was that about?" Arsen questioned as Yuri slid the scrapbook out of view.

"What? You never hear the walls talk to you? It happens to me all the time!" Yuri said playfully as he walked up the ramp to the Royal Quarters.

"No it doesn't! You're a liar, Mama!" Arsen laughed.

"No, for real, it does! That's why I'm always up so late. The walls get bored and I have them tell me jokes!

"Then why don't I hear them?"

"Because you're not patient enough! You have to be quiet for a really long time before the walls speak." Yuri said matter-of-factly.

Arsen had trouble keeping the grin off of his face. When he finally was able to relax the corners of his mouth, he and Yuri had come upon the entry paths into the more esteemed sections of the Royal Quarters. Two guards, clad in shiny armor stood side by side at the entryway. Yuri, Arsen and Repede crouched behind the bushes near the stairway.

"Hey," the guard on the left called out to his partner. "you hear about the blastia in the lower quarter?"

"Yes," The other guard responded gruffly. "I heard something about it breaking and them collecting money to fix it."

"That's right. I hear that lot went so far as to sell their treasures to save up the money."

"Treasures, sir?" The guard on the right asked.

The other scoffed. "Worthless junk, nothing more. They wouldn't have gotten more than one gald for them."

"Not even one Gald?! I can't imagine what sort of treasures those would have to be. I'd like to have a look myself…"

"Well…" The guard nearest to them interjected hesitantly. "I heard someone from the royal quarters donated a collection of plush toys that happened to be pretty valuable. Heard nobody had ever seen a collection so varied."

"Really? I might pop down to the shops later then, my niece has been begging for something other than jewelry this year."

Yuri looked to Arsen to discover that his smile had been wiped clean off. Repede nuzzled up against him and Arsen put a hand over his shoulder.

"Other than that, I'm telling you; nothing but junk! Heh heh…" The ugly laughter set something hot in Yuri and he noticed that Arsen tightened his grip in Repede's chain.

"Listen to those guys! Poor Hanks; can't really argue with them about the junk thing, though." Yuri fumed quietly.

"Mrs. Attics sold her wedding dress to help build up the money, though …and Charlie said he wouldn't be able to buy Molly a birthday present this year." Arsen mumbled.

Yuri's son really was sweet. As a child, he hadn't much to give; Yuri and Flynn were immediately on call when they'd heard that help was needed to fix up the fountain. The two had donated no small amount, but more had still been needed.

Hey, maintenance on a blastia fixture was no small thing!

Arsen had repeatedly asked if there was something he could give, to which Flynn simply chuckled and told him that the adults would worry about it. But Arsen had been determined and when he heard that he could give away something to help earn the money…

"We'll get'em back." He promised. "You can ask Flynn if he can keep an eye out for them when he leaves."

"I'd rather we got the Blastia Core back." Arsen gave him a small smile; nowhere near as bright as the one he'd been wearing a few minutes ago, but it was still a warming sight.

Yuri picked up a medium sized rock from the ground. He fixated on the guard who had talked about buying a piece of Arsen's collection. "We can do both." He let the rock fly.

"Ack!" The guard on the left went down.

"What the…who's there?" The other guard asked before being treated to the same as his buddy and getting hit with another rock.

Arsen scampered to the collapsed guards like a puppy, looking back happily at Yuri, who approached more casually. "Now, what is that I usually say about the Guards, Arsen?"

"That whatever they get paid, it's too much!" There was that sun-rivaling smile again.

"That's my boy." Yuri said proudly.

Repede stepped forward as Arsen approached the street lamps.

"Repede, can you find the trail?" Repede ran forwards towards the mansions.

"Hey Mama, the Blastia cores are missing here too!" Arsen called as he stood under one of the street lamps.

Lo and behold, several of the lights had empty sockets where their cores should be.

"Huh… I thought some of the streets had been a little dark lately. Looks like somebody's got some sticky fingers." Yuri put his hand on his hip. "That's the royal quarter for you. A few blastia go missing and no one even makes a fuss. When just one is enough to throw the lower quarter into chaos."

"If they got cores to spare, they could stand to give us some." He said to the little boy.

"I'd give the lower quarter all they needed if I was in charge." Arsen said, puffing out his chest, only to deflate as Yuri ruffled his hair.

"I know you would."

Arsen swung playfully at Yuri's hand when Yuri caught sight of Repede exiting from the sidewalk leading into one of the first mansions on the street.

"Found it!" He pointed it out to Arsen.

[Nobles]

Yuri: Looks like the Nobles are living the sweet life, as usual.

Repede: "Woof?"

Yuri: The lower quarter's right there, and they still don't give a damn.

Arsen: Have they always been this way? They never care about anyone besides themselves.

Yuri: It's not their loss, so what do they care?

Arsen: Ugh, I hate them! All they do is sit in their mansions, dress nice and giggle all day. It's not very…

Yuri: "Noble" of them?

Arsen:…yeah…

Repede: "Whine"

Arsen: By the way Mama, Dad won't like it that you said a bad word…

Yuri: I know and you be sure to tell him I said it, okay?

Arsen: Heh, okay…

The two of them approached the giant mansion, which upon drawing further, had a carriage waiting in the front. They walked up the porch stairs to the tall wooden door."So this is where he lives…" Yuri mumbled.

Arsen walked up to the door and slammed his hand against it with as much force as he could. When there was no answer, he turned to Yuri. "I don't think there's anyone home."

Yuri stepped forwards and kicked at the door. "I wonder if there's another way in."

Arsen walked around on the porch towards the corner, he peeked around and disappeared. "Hey!" He called.

Yuri ran around the corner. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but look!" Arsen pointed at an open window.

"Good job, buddy!" Yuri said as he walked towards him. Arsen put his hand and chin on the sill and deftly heaved himself over. Yuri followed him and with Repede jumping after them, they were all inside.

"I know Mordio is hiding here somewhere…

The foyer was empty and sparse; other than end tables and vases, there was nothing but doors and the staircase. Arsen tried one of the doors downstairs only to find it locked.

"Nothin' here"

Yuri went upstairs and tried the only two other rooms and got the same result.

"It won't open…" Yuri looked over the railing and Arsen held his arms up helplessly at him. "There has to be something."

It was luck that Arsen wasn't seen when the door downstairs clicked. Arsen jumped behind the door as it creaked open and hooded figure walked into the center of the lobby. Yuri watched silently, "That must be…"

Arsen watched as the figure held his hand up and something as clear blue as fresh water caught the light.

"Found him!" Two voices cried out.

Repede leapt through the balusters and landed right as Arsen reached out and grabbed the large sack that the mysterious person had been lugging behind them. Repede bit hard on the sack right next to Arsen's tiny hands.

"You're Mordio, right?" Yuri said as he jumped to the floor. His sword was unsheathed and leaned against his shoulder, he ran at the individual and almost got to him. But then, with a quick flurry of the sleeves of their robe, the room was filled with smoke.

"Arsen!" Yuri called out as he heard the sound fabric moving.

"I-…I'm here!" A voice coughed and appearing through the smoke, Arsen held his fist to his mouth; his other hand was wrapped up in the chain of a dog that so happened to be holding a certain sack in his teeth.

"Good boys." Yuri said as he got to his knee. Yuri undid the string keep the sack shut and stuck his hand inside; after some rummaging… "What the…"

Arsen tilted his head and crouched down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"The blastia core is gone!"

Yuri got to his feet and looked at his child and dog with fire in his eyes. "Let's go and get that core back! And give that mage a whooping while we're at it!"

Arsen blinked big eyes at him, "Can I help?"

"Are you kidding? Of course you can!" Yuri said as he opened the front door.

The trio walked out of the mansion and no sooner had their eyes adjusted to the light, Arsen felt a groan rise in his throat.

"Yuri! So it is you who are the cause of all this commotion."

"One would think that he would learn to be happy with what he's been given. You can take the animal out of the forest, but you cannot take the forest out of the animal, one should suppose."

Two guards, one quite spindly and the other quite rotund, stood in their path.

"Just what we needed, Tweedle A and Tweedle B."

While the two guards cried out in indignation at Yuri's remarks, Arsen snickered. "Hehe… oh! Hey!" Arsen cried out as he pointed to someone stepping into a carriage in the street.

Yuri ran down the stairs and attempted to make his way to the street, only to for the bumbling guards to step in his way.

"There's no hope of escape!" The shorter one, said haughtily. "We've got you surrounded!"

Before Yuri could simply step around the two, the carriage pulled away, taking its passenger and their belongings with it.

Arsen let out a loud groan. "Nobody is trying to escape."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "You see, it's stuff like that that keeps you guys from getting promoted."

"Ha-Ha!" Arsen mocked loudly.

"You did not just say that!"

"You take that back!"

Arsen stood next to Repede with the sack in between them as the two knights, their egos sorely bruised, took up a joint battle formation.

Yuri sighed. "Enough beating around the bush, I guess." Yuri grabbed the handle of his sword and with a swing, he tossed the scabbard towards Arsen, who jumped up and grabbed it.

Arsen stood off to the back as Yuri held his sword at his ready position. The two guards faced him on the other side of the courtyard.

"Stand back, Adecor!" The rotund stepped forwards grandiosely. "I'll handle this in the name of the Imperial Knights.

"I say." The spindly one said insistently. "I shall be the one to defend the good name of the Imperial Knights!" He shoved his way to the front. "Peons, I say, should stand back."

"You're the peon…!" Rolly shoved back.

"No, no, I say, I am your superior!" Spindly reciprocated.

Yuri stood waiting. "I appreciate the sentiment guys, but let's cut the catfight and get on with it." Yuri closed the distance between himself and the two bickering guards. "Hey, let's go! You ready!" He said unhurriedly.

At this point the two seemed to be completely unaware of Yuri's close proximity and remained fixated on their argument.

The squat one stomped his foot. "I am your superior!"

Adecor clenched his fist. "Nay Boccos! You are, I say, clearly my subordinate!"

Arsen shouted. "You're gonna have to whack 'em! C'mon! They're getting annoying!"

"Eh" Yuri swung his sword, knocking the two back with a broad swing that cause no real damage.

"owwww…" Boccos whined.

"There, how'd that make you feel?" Yuri said with a smile.

"How dare you! Hitting someone in the middle of an argument is hardly proper manners!"

"Didn't you hear me when I said "You ready?" or were you not listening?"

"Damn it!" Adecor cursed.

"I'm telling my dad you swore!" Arsen cheekily called.

Boccos jabbed his pike forwards; an unimpressive and unintimidating act as far as Yuri was concerned. "Oh brother…"

"Argh…you…" Boccos fumed. "Stop right there!"

"Does it look like I'm running?" He really wasn't.

"You!!! Be quiet!!!" Boccos charged forward.

Yuri unfortunately saw this coming from miles away. "Oops, time for a little defense.

Yuri turned his side and made a firm wall with his sword. Boccos' pike hit it squarely and with atwang,he bounced backwards onto the ground.

Boccos had a despaired look on his face. "H-he blocked my attack…!"

"I say,Sonic Thrust!" His sword glowing, Adecor thrust forwards.

"Whoa" Yuri simply raised his sword for another block. "C'mon, gimme a break…"

"Oooh! I say, how dare you block my arte!" Adecor's face began to turn beet red.

Yuri merely raised an eyebrow at the man's frustration. "Man you need to calm down…" Yuri tightened his grip and his blastia began to glow. "If you can use strike artes here, then I can too!

Yuri swung his sword in a reverse C and in a dark blue flash, a long crescent appeared. "!" It swam through the air and smacked into Adecor's chest plate. "Let's try that again. This next one's gonna hurt…!"

Yuri ran at them and with a twirl, he landed two slices on Adecor before finishing with an Azure Edge. Boccos got off a bit lighter with only one slice, but he was still hit with a Yuri's arte.

As the two of them landed on the ground, Yuri yawned as Arsen began to cheer for him in the background. "Aw, you're not giving up already, are you? I was at least hoping you'd keep me 'til Arsen's bedtime."

As the two shakily picked themselves up, they were now downright trembling with rage; Adecor pointed at Yuri while he clanked in his armor. "I-I say, Imperial Knights never give up!"

"You have yet to see our true power!" Boccos shook angrily.

Yuri cut the two some slack. "…This next time's for real, guys." He said calmly.

"That's my line!" They both shouted back.

Now that the fight had seemed to (finally) begin, Adecor and Boccos seemed determined to make up for what had essentially been free hits for Yuri and came at him with admittedly weak artes. BoccosSpin Attackcoming in from the sides served to trip up Yuri. A quickSonic Thurstproved to be a distracting thing and it became apparent that it's true purpose was to distract its target so that Boccos could whittle down at it's health.

Yuri proved to be to smart this, however. The moment he realized what the game was, he fell on Boccos like a wave and did not let up. Several swipes and a few well-placedAzure Edges had Boccos knocked out and once he went down, Adecor followed.

As the two of them collapsed, Yuri cracked his shoulders. "You should thank me. I'm giving you some extra practice."

As Yuri took in the two exhausted guards, Arsen ran up to him. "Is that all they can do?" He chirped.

"Seem so." Arsen poked at Adecor with his toe. When Adecor responded with only a low groan, all Arsen said was "Wow".

Arsen was pushed out of his reverie when he heard the loud clanking of armored footsteps as guard after guard ran towards them. Arsen stood in front of Yuri protectively as the soldiers began to crowd in on them. Arsen looked back and forth as they were surrounded, a small crackling noise could be heard and his hair began to stand on end.

But when Arsen saw him coming towards them, he withered. When Yuri put a hand on his shoulder and began to slide him safely behind him, Arsen said nothing. But he did not take his eyes off of him.

"Looks like we won't be catching up with that carriage anytime soon." Yuri said so with little fanfare, but he made sure that Arsen was behind him when he heard the click of expensive heels.

"How typical of the Schwann Brigade," A foppish voice said as Adecor and Boccos made their way to their feet. "They can't even manage to rein in a simple, rowdy citizen." The voice clicked disapprovingly. "For shame"

The two guards fell into a stuttering salute. "C-Captain Cumore! I say, our apologies for this unsightly display." The two bowed their heads low.

A man with long, periwinkle hair and eyeshadow in dusky pink and purple armor turned his nose up at the two's apology. "I'm afraid the Imperial Knights have no use for you lowborn scum."

If it was possible, the two would have lowered than heads even so than they already had. "Uhh…P-please don't let Sir Schwann know about this. Sir." The two said nervously.

Yuri tightened his grip on Arsen's shoulder. "I can't believe these are the people our taxes go to." He joked a bit to lightly trembling child at his back. Arsen didn't give any sign he heard, but when Yuri followed his gaze, he saw Repede standing near the street watching them, the sack clenched in his jaw.

The dog gave a nod and a wink to Arsen, then turned and ran towards the lower quarter.

"There he is…" Yuri whispered as he threw down his sword. Arsen mouthed "See ya" as he watched him go.

"I say, that tops it all! Abandoned by his faithful pooch!" Adecor said gratifyingly as Boccos let out a loud laugh.

Cumore looked at Yuri and Arsen from the wing-tipped corner of his eye. "Well, well, you've certainly had quite the day, haven't you Ms. Scifo." His eyes held an ugly grin as Yuri gave him a hard glare. "I myself am rather busy, but I'm always free to give assistance to the good people of the Royal Quarters." His eyes travelled down his nose as the guards parted and he walked towards them.

Arsen buried his head into Yuri's back as Cumore came closer and Yuri responded by taking a few steps backwards. "It's rats like you that make Flynn's job so difficult."

Cumore's face, which had once been loose and relaxed, hardened significantly at the mention of that name. Cumore's eyes fell onto Arsen and the hilt of his sword creaked as his grip tightened.

"Flynn? A little suffering is just what that upstart lieutenant needs, if you ask me."

The guards drew closer to the two and Arsen gave a small gasp as one of the guards reached for him. There was a small crackling noise that fizzled and popped and with a flash, the guard was thrown back by a bolt of lightning.

Arsen kept his face buried in Yuri's clothing, his blastia glowing softly. As the guards began to crowd closer and closer, Yuri slid his hand down Arsen's shoulder to his back, trying to offer a gentle comfort.Normally Yuri wouldn't panic when confronted by the imperial guards, he could take anything they dished out and then some. But the combination of Arsen and Cumore made things far less than ideal. The guards had no reason to hurt a small child and under normal circumstances, they would leave Arsen alone; a blend of the knowledge of his parentage and the idea that they were above the act of hurting a freak of a brat from the lower quarters s stilling their hands and making them prefer simply tossing him back to his messiah mother.

But as of right now, they were on Cumore's orders and he had no pity for the child of Flynn Scifo.

Yuri's eyes hardened as one of the guards pulled back his fist, aimed towards Yuri's stomach.

"Take them to the prison." The voice halted the guards.

The one who had was aiming to punch turned to look at Cumore. "Sir?"

"They're still technically members of the Royal Quarter and it won't do to have the plebeians watch them be put into their place. Throw the aberration into a cell and the ragamuffin…" Cumore glared hard at Arsen, who kept his head down. "…lock him in a room. Won't do to have him catch his death in the cells."

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彡

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**Notes:****SkylynnShimmertail: I'm...going through some things and I ended up writing in a substantially different style from the first chapter, sorry for the whiplash. I'd appreciate some constructive criticism if anyone has any!**


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